


New York's Hottest Power Couple

by wolfie_slays



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Anxiety, Fluff, Husbands, M/M, Magazine Article, Mental Health Issues, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 14:37:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16578404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfie_slays/pseuds/wolfie_slays
Summary: Tony and Peter's married life from the perspective of a journalist :)





	New York's Hottest Power Couple

**NEW YORK’S HOTTEST POWER COUPLE - TONY AND PETER STARK SPILL ALL ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP, CHILDREN AND MENTAL HEALTH**

Almost as soon as I press the doorbell to the Stark household in Miami, the door is being pulled open by a fresh-faced Peter Stark, a huge grin on his face. He’s dressed casually - a t-shirt, jeans and bare feet - and looks every single one of his twenty young years.

“Hi!” he greets, with genuine enthusiasm. “I’m Peter, it’s really nice to meet you.”

He invites me in, asks my name, enquires as to how I’m feeling. The look on his face tells me he genuinely cares about my answers, isn’t just going through the motions, which contrasts the media that reports him to be a spoilt and bratty young man. He leads me into a modern-style living room, all sleek sofas and furniture, with ceiling-to-floor windows that give an incredible view of the beach.

“Tony will be here soon, he’s just in the shower.” Peter informs me. “Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

He’s an incredibly accommodating host, easy and comfortable in such luxuries as the Stark Miami beach house, a world away from the tiny apartment he grew up in when he lived in Queens with his aunt. I ask him if the lavish life of Tony Stark ever intimidates him and he flushes, chuckling.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be used to it.” he laughs. “There are pieces of furniture in this room that probably cost more than my entire college education will. I didn’t grow up poor, but my aunt definitely struggled to make ends meet, especially after my uncle died, and I was used to going without.”

At that point, Tony Stark enters the room, wearing a casual yet well-tailored suit despite the midday heat. He is as charming as ever as he approaches, and nobody could miss the way Peter’s face lights up when Tony enters the room. Similarly, Tony gazes at Peter as if the boy had hung the very stars in the sky. They get settled on the sofa, Peter curled into Tony’s side, and the interview begins.

I begin by offering my congratulations to the couple, who were recently married, around five months ago, in a private ceremony at Stark Tower in New York.

“Thanks.” Tony says with a smile. “Married life really is crazy, I don’t think I’m going to be getting over the fact that I get to call this beautiful boy my husband any time soon.”

“ _You’re_ not getting over it?” Peter exclaims with wide eyes, before turning to me. “I’ve been mooning over Tony on TV since I was, like, ten years old, and now he’s my _husband._ ”

“There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding your marriage, though.” I point out. “There’s an age gap of over thirty years between the two of you, and several important people, including Tony’s own close friend Steve Rogers, haven’t been entirely supportive.”

“Yeah, it was a total bummer that Steve decided not to come to the wedding.” Peter says, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “I can understand why people might be uncomfortable with the situation, given we first met when I was only fifteen, but Tony’s been nothing but respectful of me since the minute he met me, and there was nothing other than friendship between us until I turned seventeen.”

“There’s been a lot of speculation as to whether or not Peter and I had a relationship before Peter was legal,” Tony interrupts, “and if I’ve said it once I’ll say it again - I may be a morally dubious man, but I’m not and never will be attracted to children.”

Peter runs a hand through Tony’s hair, clearly attempting to calm the protective older man. They make such a picture together, one so clearly dependent on the other, and vice versa.

“When I first met Tony, we were strictly mentor and student, nothing more.” says Peter firmly. “Even though I did have the biggest schoolboy crush on him.”

The couple share a dopey smile, and Tony nudges Peter in the ribs gently, causing the younger boy to giggle. Watching the pair together, the question of children inevitably arises.

“I’m not sure that me and Tony want kids quite yet.” says Peter, looking at his husband, who shakes his head. “I’m still planning to go to college soon, I’m still only twenty years old, and there are so many things I want to do with my life before I settle down and have kids that I have to take responsibility for.”

“But I see kids on the horizon in the future, maybe.” Tony interjects with a smile. “You’d make an amazing dad, Pete. You’re definitely the responsible one in the relationship.”

“I’m not going to argue with you there, babe.” Peter giggles. “Like, six weeks before the wedding, Tony suddenly panics and decides that he needs to add more programming to his AI, make more improvements on the suit, built a robot, literally anything so that he doesn’t have to deal with wedding planning. He barely came out of the workshop.”

“You’re never gonna let me forget that, are you?” Tony chuckles fondly. “I do feel bad, I left Peter, who was completely out of his depth, to deal with the florists, the caterers, the tailors, everyone, all on his own.”

“In my defence, I had Pepper.” Peter assures me. “I wouldn’t have been able to deal with everything by myself.”

The direction of the conversation turns once more to how life has changed for young Peter Stark, being thrust into the public eye at the tender age of eighteen as Tony Stark’s boyfriend, and now aged twenty as his husband.

“I’d do anything for him.” Peter says determinedly. “It gets really stressful and scary at times, especially when everything first came out into the open, but Tony really is the love of my life, and it’d take a lot more than angry paparazzi to make me have second thoughts.”

“Peter works hard for what he has.” Tony interjects. “I love to spoil my husband, of course I do, but he has genuinely helped me make massive advancements in my technology, which is why I offered him a job in Stark Industries. He worked hard to buy his aunt a house in Queens, to make sure she’s looked after, my money had nothing to do with that, and he donates an amazing amount of his own hard earned coin to charity.”

“Me and Tony talked a lot about the whole sugar baby and sugar daddy dynamic when we first started dating, and I feel like because I’m so young the media definitely fixates on it.” says Peter. “He loves to spend money on me, and I appreciate the fact that he treats me, but we both knew that I wouldn’t be happy just sitting back and letting him look after me; I wanted to work, I wanted to put my ideas and my brain to good use. I love inventing, I love creating, and we both knew that the whole house husband thing was never gonna work out for me.”

The couple can barely take their eyes off each other as they speak, and the pride shining from Tony’s eyes as his husband talks about his independence is touching. They paint such a perfect picture together, I almost feel bad that I have to move the conversation to Tony’s past.

“You haven’t always had an easy past, Mr Stark.” I say. “From your issues with Howard Stark as a child to your captivity in Afghanistan, you’ve publicly admitted to your dependence on alcohol as well as being diagnosed with PTSD. Do you feel this affects your relationship at all?”

“It really hasn’t been easy at times, and I feel that people underestimate how easily these kinds of issues can become toxic in a relationship.” admits Tony. “I’m so grateful to Peter, because obviously he’s so young, that he continues to stick by me even though when I get stuck in my head I can get pretty dark and nasty.”

“It can get difficult to deal with, and I think it’s important that we admit that to each other and don’t just pretend that we’re both coping fine all the time.” Peter agrees. “The worst part for me is seeing the man I love stuck in a rut, and knowing that there’s nothing I can do about it other then just be there and ride it out with him.”

“Peter’s helped me not to hide from my issues, though.” Tony says, wrapping an affectionate arm around Peter’s shoulders. “A few months after we first started dating, I hit a rough patch, and I slipped back into drinking again. I was barely functioning and I’d become incredibly self-destructive, and Peter forced me to sit down and face what was happening. He basically said to me that he wasn’t going to put in the effort if I wasn’t, and I realised that I needed to get help, otherwise I’d lose the one person in my life that I loved so much.”

“I’ve never admired Tony more than when he told me he was seeing a therapist.” smiled Peter. “He’s changing the game in terms of awareness for men’s mental health; he’s Iron Man and he’s Tony Stark, and to see someone _that_ strong and confident come forward and say ‘yeah, I’m an alcoholic, I’m depressed and I’ve got anxiety and PTSD’ is incredibly brave and inspiring.”

Peter gestures animatedly as he speaks, eyes shining with excitement and pride at what his husband has managed to accomplish. Tony stares at him, his gaze coloured with love, adoration for the younger man etched across his face. The interview comes to an end.

“Any last things you guys want to say?” I ask.

“I’m so grateful to have someone as amazing as Tony in my life.” Peter grins. “And it’s even more amazing to be able to call him my husband.”

“Same here, honey.” Tony smiles. “And I must say, it does wonders for a old man’s ego to have a beautiful twenty-year-old boy sat on my sofa telling me how wonderful I am.”

Peter jokingly sticks his tongue out at Tony, and the couple share a chaste kiss, happiness shining on both of their faces. As I leave, they are full of thanks, and wish me a safe journey home, standing hand-in-hand at the door.

It’s clear to see, having only spent an hour with Tony and Peter Stark, that the two are incredibly in love. Still basking in the afterglow of their wedding, Tony Stark plans to take a break from his work for six months, and Peter is going to apply to MIT next year. We’re all excited to see what will come next from this genius couple.


End file.
